Notes

SCARRIT LESH MOOIR AGH KLANLT LESH MOOINJERYS

Divided by sea but joined by kinship

Ersooyl

We walked among the mists in eager quest
Of faerie-lore, and talked with eyes aglow
Of all the strange invisible things that go
About that sea-girt land we love the best:
And ever the grey mist whirled and took no rest;
The waves came sliding inwards, soft and slow,
And wheeling gulls troubled dim sands below, "
And cold, wet winds came blowing from the west.

Now you have passed out from these shadowed lands
By unknown ways to seek the Light of lights;
Still the pale winds whirl mist across the sea,
And white gulls cry, and rain beats on the sands
But you are away among the strange delights
Whereof the unquiet waves sing endlessly.

MONA DOUGLAS.

Ersooyl, i.e. Away. Literally,  out of
sight.

THE loss of Miss SOPHIA MORRISON has brought sorrow and grief to
all who know and love the Isle of Man. A true friend to all things
Manx, she lives in the hearts of the people, and her gentle influence
will long be felt. It is a but a brief four years since she founded
this Magazine, one object of which was, in the words of Bishop Drury,
to preserve what is of value and interest in connection with
the history, language and antiquities of the Isle of Man  ;
and, as he further hoped, to bring out the high value of what
is truly Manx, that MANNIN may thus indirectly foster a knowledge of
what we really are ; a people who love what is straight and clean and
wholesome, a people who, left to follow their true instincts, hate
religious bickerings and party strife, a people who love that
righteousness which exalteth a nation and hate the sin that is a
disgrace to any people.

How faithfully that ideal has been followed is shown in the pages
of the nine numbers now publisheda literary memorial of which
her friends may well feel proud. We say nine, for the
present and final number still represents her work, since each of the
articles and most of the notesexcepting of course, those
relating to herself, had already been arranged for and their order
assigned by her, while in some cases she had revised the proofs and
in others had added notes of her own. Her name will also be linked
with another work which, unfortunately for us, she did not live to
complete, but, it is pleasing to hear that she had practically
finished the Dialect Dictionary or Anglo-Manx
Vocabulary,which had been begun by the late Speaker,
A. W. Moore, and had arranged for its publication by the Oxford
University Press. It is to be hoped that subscriptions will now come
in, and that we may soon have copies on our shelves of this
interesting and important contribution to our Manx Literature.

The preservation of the Manx Language, the recovery of our
Folklore in song and story, with illustrations of the past and
present-day life of our people, as well as the forging of a link to
bind the many Manx folk abroad with those left in our Island home,
were the principal aims of Miss Morrison, to which, in spite of
failing health, she dedicated her time and her energies with pluck
and untiring perseverance. And for this she was qualified as no one
else could be by her intimate knowledge of all parts of the Island,
her genuine sympathy and her comprehension which commanded the
confidence of the people by whom she was loved and respected, and,
her unselfish devotion to the cause which she had at heart.
EDITOR.

Few events in my life have affected me more deeply than the sudden
loss of our friend Miss Sophia Morrison. I had received a cheery
letter from her only a short time before she passed away. She filled
a very special position in the domain of the Manx Language which has
now so few exponents. When William Quayle of Ballamiljyn, the
original secretary and part promoter of our Society, was removed by
death, it was felt there would be difficulty in replacing him, but,
as the occasion makes the man, so a worthy successor was found in the
person of Miss Morrison, whose talents were then known only to a few.
She more than justified the choice which fell upon her ; but as
Editor of MANNIN, in the wider sphere of Manx Folklore and
Literature, her high literary qualities became apparent. Through her
energy and zeal the Society published a number of booklets (two of
which must in part be credited to her) to encourage the study of
Manx, and a reprint of Cregeens Dictionary. She herself
published a book of Manx
Fairy Tales, and brought to conclusion Mr. A. W.
Moores Anglo-Manx Dictionary, and other matters which
are still in MS. But her labour of love was undoubtedly devoted to
her journal MANNIN, which has drawn forth the admiration of bookmen
for the excellence of its subject matter and dainty dress. Miss.
Morrison was a true Manx patriot. She loved the Island of her birth
and all its best attributes and traditions. Her enthusiasm for
gleaning information from old Manx folk was well known. She possessed
the instinct of discrimination, and was kindly, liberal-minded, and
charitable in a high degree. The Isle of Man has lost a daughter of
whom it might well be proud. G. W. WOOD.

The late Mr. Thomas Kneen, Clerk of the Rolls, had many opponents
as a politician and as an administrator, but he had the genius
to be loved, as Mrs. Browning puts it, and he had an intense
affection for and devotion to the land which gave him birth. He was
doubtless the most popular personality in the Island, and his demise,
at a comparatively early age, will be genuinely regretted. It is
appointed, judging by a bill just introduced into the Legislature at
the instance of the Home Office, that Mr. Kneen shall be the last
Clerk of the Rolls in Manx history. Some steps are probably necessary
to make the Manx Constitution acceptable to the Manx people,
otherwise the deplorable Annexation movement will become really
formidable ; but the suggestion that an English barristerany
English barristeris as good as a Manx judge, is not
flattering.

The late Mr. Flaxney Stowell, who died at Castletown on October
13th, was an artist of considerable attainments. Pictures of his have
been hung in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Many of his studies
of Manx seascapes are of very great merit.

Manxmen continue to shed their blood in the sacred cause of
homeland. Since the last issue of MANNIN, at least fifteen Manx
sailors have perished in the loss of vessels of H.M. Navy, and many,
alas ! many Manx soldiers have died on the battlefield particularly
since the commencement of the new offensive. Shortly before the
publication of this issue, it was computed that since the outbreak of
war four hundred and twenty-seven officers and men of Manx birth or
blood have been killed in action or have died of wounds, while
fifty-nine others have succumbed to disease or accident, and
twenty-seven have been reported missing. In addition, fifty are
detained in enemy internment camps, and no less than five hundred and
eighty-five have been wounded. Seventy-three officers and men and two
nurses have received military decorations, or have otherwise been
specially mentioned for conspicuous gallantry or meritorious service.
Manx folk have recently thrilled with Pardonable pride as they have
listened to the story of how the s.s.
Monas Queen, one of the Isle of Man Steam Packet
Companys fleet, rammed and sank a submarine which attacked her
while carrying troops to Havre on February 8th ; or as they have
heard of the courage and skill with which the captain and crew of the
Tynwald, in the teeth of a blizzard, rescued the crew and passengers
of the American liner New York, when that vessel was damaged by a
mine in the Mersey, on April 9th. The Ben-my-Chree, the largest and
newest of all our Manx passenger steamers, was sunk by the enemy on
January 11th, while acting as a seaplane carrier.

As has been announced in the newspapers of the period, the new secretary of
the Manx Society is Miss Mona Douglas, of Ballaragh, near Laxey. The selection
is a thoroughly happy one and the Society is fortunate in having such a choice
available. Miss Douglas is still very young, but the achievement of her youth
is already such as to give the most glowing promise of the achievement &
her maturity since the last issue of MANNIN three tender little poems from her
pen have appeared in the newspaper column edited by that useful patriot, 
Uncle Jack, of the Isle of Man Times. Miss Douglas has leisure,
she has enthusiasm, and those who are acquainted with her are confident that
she has judgment. One can only wish her every success and every happiness in
the work she has newly undertaken, and bespeak for her the ready assistance
of all who have hitherto interested themselves in the fortunes of the. Society.

We take the following from the Daily Dispatch, 10th March,
1917, as it seems peculiarly appropriate to the Isle of Man
:

For the national festival, to be held during the Birkenhead Eisteddfod in
September, Mr. Lloyd George was asked to make a selection of his favourite
congregational tunes, and chose Dyfrdwy, Hyder, Dorcas, and Jabez.

In his letter to the chairman the Premier said

I gave myself up during the weekend to the selection of our Welsh hymn tunes.
which I am anxious to add to your collection. It was an exceedingly difficult
task when there was so much excellent material, and I am not sure that I have
been very successful

I am a great believer in the old Welsh Mesur Saim tunes, so long as they
are not rattled through, as if the conductors were engaged on piece work,
and were paid according to the number of tones they rush through per hour
! By this process they lose their stately impressiveness

 I wish there had been a few more of these on your list; and, if you
will not be offended at my saying so, the committee might have done better
if they had scrapped some of the English tunes and substituted great Welsh
tunes like "Dymuniad" and Bryn Hyfryd."

 One of the great objects of associating congregational singing
demonstrations with the Eisteddfod was to show that Wales had a contribution
of her own to make to this important branch of music.

 The English hymn tunes chosen might be better; although I have
great doubts of that, but that does not end the matter. Englishmen know their
own tunes, and the world knows them, whereas the congregational music of Wales
is a revelation which has yet to be made Hence. in my judgment, the introduction
of such a number of English tunes derogates from the main purpose of the festival
unless the festival presents the characteristics of the Welsh congregational
music, I fail to see the point of the gathering. However, I leave the
matter entirely in your hands, and have only presumed to press this point
on the committee as I was the the originator of the idea at the Aberystwyth
Eisteddfod, and I feel a special responsibility for seeing that it serves
the object for which it was instituted.

The words of the present Prime Minister, quoted above, have
special interest bearing on our Isle of Man Music Guild, which for
some years has had a national character of its own. distinguishing it
among the many larger Guilds across the water. The establishment of
the classes for Manx Music was due to Miss Morrison, who devoted
herself unsparingly to the work of encouraging the formation of Manx.
singing classes all over the Island. They were supported and chiefly
financed by the Manx Language Society, and Miss Morrison gave freely
time, strength and money In having Manx children taught to sing old
native airs in the old tongue. It was a great grief in her last
illness that the classes had been eliminated from the Guild, thus
taking from a splendid and most interesting institution a
characteristic which it shared with Irish, Scottish and Welsh Music
Guilds.

It has been a noticeable feature of MANNIN that a space was set
apart for the gradual publication of the melodies taken from Dr.
Clagues MSS. Miss Morrison took special pains in this work to
have the tunes printed exactly as they had been taken down. Only by
this means could the originals be secured, as, apart from the danger
of loss or accident, there would always be the possibility of their
being used by modern writers and altered out of their original
character. Once printed as taken down by Dr. Clague and his helpers
they would be preserved, and future alterations be of less
consequence.

As already stated, this is to be the final number of MANNIN. A
complete index is being prepared and, as soon as published, will be
sent out to subscribers who apply at once direct to the
Publishers.

MANNIN having come to a close with this number, the Manx Language
Society hope, after an interval, to publish a Magazine of similar
character, and they bespeak for that new venture the hearty support
of all subscribers to MANNIN.